Professor Anastasia Lankford
'Professor Anastasia Lankford '''is the Spells and Rituals professor at the Tulsa House of Night and a Priestess of Nyx. She was also the Spells and Rituals professor at the Tower Grove House of Night. She is the wife of Professor Dragon Lankford. She is killed by Rephaim in ''Tempted ''by slitting her throat. Biography It is said that she was a Quaker girl. Sometime in her life, she was Marked and attended the Pennsylvania House of Night. The other Quakers made her mother shun her, but she still loved her. She spent six years immersed in the House of Night society: as a fledgling, a priestess in training and now as a full professor. She has only had two years of formal training in Spells and Rituals. Her mentor priestess believes she is the youngest vampyre in America to be made a full professor. She came highly recommended from the Pennsylvania House of Night. She still gets letters from her and her mother sends them in secret. She began teaching at the Tower Grove House of Night in 1833. Her students had been coming forward and asking for love spells with which they wished to use to make the fifth former Dragon Lankford fall in love with them. She is given permission from High Priestess Pandeia and her mate Diana to cast a Drawing Spell in order to show the infatuated fledglings the true Dragon. She casts the spell and in her first attempt, draws Dragon to her along with a bear and a vision of the older Dragon Lankford, with whom she finds herself instantly attracted. The older Dragon begs Anastasia to be patient with the young one, tells her he loves her and that she will love him, and then asks her with amusement not to let the young Dragon slay the bear. She does and coerces the young Dragon, who she insists on calling Bryan and not his preferred name, into casting the spell a second time. The spell works and the fledglings back off, which Dragon finds doesn't bother him as much. The two find themselves drawn to each other, and when Anastasia is asked to perform a Peace Spell near the jailhouse where Jesse Biddle, who has been causing problems for the vampyres and fledglings, is located and Dragon accompanies her. When he does, he proclaims that he wants her and only her, to which she responds that she hates violence and doesn't think they can be together because he is a Swordsmaster. When he replies that he can put mercy before the sword, she accepts him. When she casts the spell, Biddle comes out and attacks them. Biddle chokes Dragon into unconsciousness. Anastasia fights back, but is overpowered and thrown to the ground. She uses her connection to the earth to heal Dragon, but Biddle grabs her before she can see if it worked and drags her off to rape her. She fights him off enough to call earth back to her to protect her. She talks to Biddle and he begins to regret his actions, but before he can make a move, Dragon kills him with his sword. Dragon then makes the Change and becomes a vampyre. Dragon wishes to slay the mysterious creature that was in the cage the entire time, but Anastasia talks him into setting it free instead (which is something he notes later he regrets as it was a Raven Mocker). After he sets it free, he earns his Dragon vampyre tattoos and pledges his Warrior Oath to Anastasia, which she accepts with the request that he always put mercy before the sword. At some point later in their lives, they married and moved to the Tulsa House of Night. There, she still taught Spells and Rituals. They traveled the world, studying ancient vampyre lore and bring alive long-lost vampyre rituals. She also had a cat (which was something she had hoped for in ''Dragon's Oath) named Guinevere. Books Marked She is first seen at the Full Moon Ritual when she is tracing pentagrams on the foreheads of the fledglings. She tells Zoey that the Goddess has faith in her. ''Hunted'' Guinevere and Shadowfax, Anastasia and Dragon's cats, were seen in Zoey's room which Zoey figures out that Anastasia and Dragon on her side and against Kalona. Anastasia and her husband, Dragon , help Zoey and the gang escape from the House of Night. Tempted S''he is killed after Rephaim, Kalona favorite son and Raven Mocker, slit her throat as his last act before he follows after Zoey and her friends. After that, Dragon made a pyre for her during which only Lenobia, Shadowfax, and Guinevere were present (with Zoey and her friends being an exception when they actually arrived). Zoey, Shaunee, Erin, Damien, and Stevie Rae used their elements to make it more bearable for him. Guinevere was howling loudly and attempting to throw herself onto the pyre with her vampyre, which Dragon held her back from doing tearfully. It is later mentioned that Anastasia had been a mentor for a fledgling named Red, who was one of the few fledglings (and vampyres) who stood up to Kalona and Neferet. It earned her a spot in the infirmary. Gallery Anastasia.png Drawing Spell.png Sword-and-sunflower.png Peace Spell.png Trivia It should be noted that in ''Marked, her tattoos are described as being spirals while in Dragon's Oath, they are described as flowers and vines. Category:Characters Category:Blue Vampyres Category:Female characters Category:Priestesses Category:Professors Category:Marked Characters Category:Tempted Characters Category:Dragon's Oath Characters Category:Supporting characters Category:Deceased